Two weeks before we got hitched, I made 375 Soft Ginger Cookies.
For some crazy idea unbeknownst to me, I decided that I was going to bake all of our guests delicious wedding favours as a token of our appreciation for their attendance.
How hard could it be, right?
[Is it creepy that I saved two of these favours and I still have them 2 years later!?]
Don’t answer that. ;)
Amazingly, I finished the favours just in the nick of time with special thanks to my ‘Little Elves’ who worked tirelessly wrapping and labelling the cookies…
The girls and I tended to more important things, like getting our hands and feet polished for the big day…
…getting our hair buffed…
And curled into a coif…
…celebrating on the town…
And trying not to get too confused at the wedding rehearsal…
Not long after our entrance into the reception ballroom, I realized that many of our guests had already dug into the cookies and polished off every last crumb! [I swear we didn’t deprive them of appetizers either!]
These were just some darn good cookies.
Our guests went a little crazy over them…
As did the boys…
[However, that could have been the wine talking, I can’t be sure.]
Eric’s Uncle Steve came up to me during the reception and told me something I will never forget:
“Angela, I didn’t think I would ever say this, but these Ginger Cookies are better than my mother’s ginger cookies that I grew up eating my whole life…’
Again, that could have been the wine talking.
All I remember thinking is, ‘Ohhh, yo mama gonna whip yo ass.’
Oh She Glows
Wedded Bliss Soft Ginger Cookies
I adapted these soft and moist ginger cookies to make them vegan and they turned out even better than I remember. They also freeze wonderfully. I carefully froze the cookies in plastic wrap + ziplock bags (double wrapped) leading up to the wedding and they were as fresh as ever on the big day!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp Earth Balance buttery stick
- 1/2 cup organic white sugar
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Flax or chia egg (1 tsp ground chia or flax + 4 tbsp almond milk)
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves (optional)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2.5 cups all-purpose flour* (see note below)
- Turbinado sugar, for garnish
Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or grease with butter. Mix flax or chia egg in small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the Earth Balance and sugar until combined. Now add the molasses, maple syrup, flax/chia egg, and vanilla and beat for another 60 seconds or so. In a medium sized bowl sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, sea salt, optional cloves). Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet while beating with a mixer to combine. Beat until smooth and mixed well, about 20-30 seconds. With slightly wet hands, shape the dough into 1-1.5 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Carefully flatten ball slightly with hand and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. If making 1 inch balls, bake for no longer than 10 minutes at 350F. If making larger cookies, bake for 11-12 minutes. Cookies will slightly firm up after removing from oven. Makes 26 small cookies.
Note: I tested the cookies with an equal mixture of whole wheat and white flours (1.25 cups each) and the all white flour cookies were by far the best tasting. The whole wheat version cookies were a bit tough and I would not suggest using whole wheat flour.
The first batch I made last night turned out ok, but not perfect. They were cracked and not as moist as I wanted them to be…I knew another trial was necessary.
This morning I was back at it at 5:45am, making my second batch!!!
Luckily this batch turned out just right.
I was so smitten by them, I crumbled a ginger cookie on top of my Gingerbread Vegan Overnight Oats!
Outrageous.
And now I shall squeeze in a run before I get baking Glo Bars. It is finally not raining outside so I think I might have to hit the great outdoors and bundle up in my warm running clothes. I need some sunshine in a major way.
Have you ever baked or cooked something for a large group of people? What did you make and what was it for?
{ 112 comments… read them below or add one }
I made ginger cookies for the first time last year and we LOVED them! I gotta try yours since they sound like they were a hit!
I made chocolate chip cookies for a wedding once, not nearly 375, but 150 or so. Plus, I wasn’t the bride.
These cookies look really good and I’ve wanted to use up my molasses.
Love reading the story behind these cookies. They look delicious! :)
It’s the best compliment ever when someone tells you they are better than their mothers. Now I need to adjust the recipe for my sugar problems and I’m off to try them :-)
YUM! i’ll have to try these and see if they’re better ;) but the cookie press looks so fun!
These sound heavenly. I’ve been stalking all of your recipes lately and they always give me the urge to cook or bake!! Which is awesome, except when it’s 11 pm and I still haven’t done my homework ;) Bookmarked these though!!
I do all the desserts for all our family gatherings each year. Baking for crowd is what I do best!
Ooh I want to make these! I LOVE ginger cookies :D
oh man i couldn’t imagine baking THAT many cookies, but at least everyone enjoyed them, then it would be worth it. I love ginger cookies.
These look amazing, I’ll have to try your recipe! I cooked for 80 people one summer for a dinner party at Douglas Copland’s house! We had pounds of herbs for a tabouleh, meatballs in every oven…it was madness but so fun!
Oh, these cookies will definitely be making an appearance at my house this holiday season! ;)
The only thing I’ve made for a big crowd is lasagna…super easy and great for tons of people!
I love ginger snaps, but prefer soft cookies so these sound perfect.
And all the wedding pictures are great!
i love all things ginger and those look divine! bravo for taking that on before your wedding! you crazy! ;) i once had to bake all the cookies for a fundraising bakesale i organized. i spent 6am-10pm on a sunday packaging, mixing, baking all the cookies in my dorm kitchen because all the people supposed to help bailed! it was rough but the sale was a huge success! we sold out in 2 hrs!
those ginger snaps look fantastic!!!
beautiful pics as usual.
Angela, I have a question. Where do you get ideas of wrapping baked goodies for gift? I’ve been searching online to see tutorials about how to wrap homemade goodies for gift and i couldn’t find anything useful. How do you wrap it?
Thanks! :)
I believe we cut 12 inch squares of clear cellophane, gathered all sides and tied with curly ribbon (the label was already threaded onto the ribbon before this). Then we took scissors and curled the ends.
Hmm, I did a Christmas dinner for 21 last year. I made all vegetarian sides and a butternut squash lasagna and I even stuck the (already cooked) spiral ham in the oven for those in the family that eat meat.
Not for a lot of people but I cooked elaborate 5 course vegetarian meals for my family of 5 all throughout high school.
I even did Thanksgiving dinner when I was 18 right after my mother was diagnosed with cancer and we decided not to make the trip in to see the rest of the family. Again, I went all vegetarian including a walnut/onion/mushroom loaf as the main course–but also cooked a small turkey breast so the rest of the family could at least get their taste of turkey. (FYI – she is *almost* at 3 years cancer free–so– happy ending)
Great story!!!
It’s so fun to see your passion come through baking and blogging about it;) And such fun wedding pictures. Every time I get to the bottom of your posts I’m grinning from ear to ear!
I love ginger cookies and the fact that you made them for the wedding! Homemade wedding gifts are so special. Last year my husband and I canned a TON of jars of homemade apple butter to give as favors at our wedding. It was stressful but worth every moment!
I once baked a giant cookie for an old boyfriend on our anniversary…he laughed at me and told me it was silly. I’m glad we’re not together anymore. haha However, I ate it – and it WAS delicious. These ginger cookies sound amaaazing! Must try!
These sound and looks SOOOOOOOOO good! Will have to try this weekend.
Two years ago I was a bridesmaid in my cousin’s wedding. I made 12 dozen chocolate chip oatmeal pumpkin cookies as wedding favors for the out of town guests…they are the perfect autumn cookie!
my mom made 17 cakes for the centerpieces at our wedding. Each table had their own cake to eat whenever they wanted and it was fabulous! Everyone knew my love of cake and they were happy to eat cake whenever they wanted. those cookies look great!
Ahh – such a sweet post!! I love this recipe and can’t wait to make them closer to the Holidays!
What a coincidence! I have recently fallen in love with your blog, but for my wedding last December, I baked ginger cookies as favors for my guests, too. Just a few months later, I was diagnosed with celiac, so now I have to figure out how to make them gluten free… you’ve reminded me of that need! Better get experimenting…
Those look delicious. I am surprised you don’t LOVE running in the rain. I DO!! I live on the east coast of Canada so we get our fair share of rain too. It’s honestly one of my favourite times to run (unless I am doing a real loooong run… then it gets old. quick.). The snow is a close second for me… so maybe I am just a little nutty! You should try it out a few times, you may just love it :)
I love the story behind this post. :)
Those look so good! I don’t even like ginger cookies, and I would NOT MIND eating those Haha! =) You must have been so tired after baking all those girl! Its a good thing you had your family to help!
Last August I cooked (with many helpers) the dinner for my sister’s wedding with 300 attendees! But wait, not only did I cook, I also harvested. The green beans, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, pesto basil, and salad fixins’ came out of my dad’s garden! I still can’t believe we pulled that one off…
I love all of your wedding photos!! The cookies look so so good. I have a recipe for ginger-ish type cookies that I make at Christmas time, and I’ve made them in very large batches before. They always turn out really well (unless I happen to get distracted and forget about them in the oven!) and are fun to decorate. :)
Those cookies sound amazing. Definitely bookmarking the recipe! :)
Those cookies look amazing! And you are so brave to have taken on such a grand task for your own wedding as bake all your own favors. It looked like you had quite the crowd to bake for, too! I probably would only consider doing that if there was a short guest list.
what do you suggest using in place of the earth balance & ground chia/flax? im looking to make these today
Non vegan subs:
Earth balance = butter
Chia/flax egg = egg
Not sure about vegan subs. Perhaps an egg replacer and vegan margarine.
What wonderful wedding favors. I love to receive homemade gifts, especially food! I haven’t done much baking for large groups of people, but have been toying with the idea of baking granola for my holiday gifts this year. Still figuring out the best recipe.
Mmmm! I love ginger cookies.
I made 6 batches of cookies to sell for the CIBC Run for the Cure findraiser my team was having. By batch 2 I wanted to own a bakery but by batch 5 I had changed my mind!! :)
that’s amazing you made so many cookies for your own wedding!
I’ve baked 12 dozen cookies for my local police department — I had interned there for college and I wanted to say thank you. Lets just say the officers/staff could EAT so I had to make a ton. it was fun though — I just stayed up super late the night before baking them fresh.
My mom baked the dessert for our wedding — hundreds and hundreds of lemon cream cheese bars. They are my absolute favorite treat ever and she made them all for us! Yum.
I am totally making those cookies. They look delish!
I absolutely LOVE those kind of cookies, and the way you crumbled them on top of your oats – OMG – I need that!
The most I ever made was a pasta salad for 8, haha. Can’t say I’ve ever had to cook for more; kind of intimidated by it.
Those ginger cookies however look absolutely scrumptious. :-P
Wow! this is an inspiring wedding story =) I was soo busy the last week before my wedding! I admire you for taking the time to make homemade favors! These look delicious, and I really like your blog! Where is your bakery located, or is it all online? Have a great day!
Those cookies look so yummy, I can’t believe you were already baking at 5:45am!
I made fudge for the 150 people that attended my wedding. I made four kinds and gave each guest a total of 8 pieces. I wouldn’t have been able to finish it all with all the help of my ‘elves’ either. It was totally worth the effort!
Those ginger cookies look SO much better than the boxed kind I made a few weeks ago! I finally got some molasses yesterday so I just made plans to bake those beauties today : ) perfect timing on this post for me. I love all your Fall inspired recipes, and were finally getting some fall weather in North Carolina. I’m ready to celebrate w/ some baking!
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